Chinese Artist Li Keran and Modern Art of the 20th Century

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nIntroduction

nLi Keran was a Chinese artist who greatly influenced the modern art in the 20th century. By the moment of his demise in 1989, Keran had played a major part in transformation of Chinese art. He initiated individual skill of landscape painting which was founded upon the simulation of both contemporary and ancient masters. Li exhibited a talent of music, calligraphy, and painting since his childhood. He studied western arts and Chinese painting at the Shanghai Art College (Met Museum, 2017). Moreover, his art were influenced by convincing customs of the European Renaissance. Similarly, prominent Chinese persons such as Kang Youwei also helped Li Keran to link Western and Chinese arts in order to establish a new era of Chinese painting. He generated numerous paintings, which signified the peak of his work and a landmark for modern Chinese art (Roberts, 2017). Keran used his ideas and skills of art to transform the cultural context in China.

nLi pursued his motivation from nature and his ultimate accomplishment was based on his exploration in the handling of light in his work. Traditionally, the Chinese painting involved management of ideas of substance (shi), void (xu), sun (yang) and shade (yin). Moreover, these concepts could obtusely assume to shade and light via the association of negative and positive space. Nonetheless, in the pictorial traditions of the Chinese, light was never used as a physical element (Poly Auction, 2017). In this regard, Li Keran played a part in the transformation of the Chinese art through his tenacious investigation by integrating the light aspect in the Chinese painting.

nMore notably, Li Keran used most of his time drawing from nature, arguing that painting was the initial step towards transformation of the Chinese painting. Although he imitated prehistoric Chinese calligraphic customs, his high-level education in oil painting also influenced him to use western form of painting in his career (Met Museum, 2017). For instance, he applied the chiaroscuro. Therefore, he is appreciated as nether a reformist and a traditionalist, but instead as an inventor who combined both traditional Chinese styles and western skills in the 20th century (Roberts, 2017). Consequently, he was capable of improving the Chinese art. In so doing, his work was adored by many art fans and students who initiated the Li Art School in the late 1980s.

nThe Landscape in Red

nThe “Landscape in Red” is a classic theme, which represents the Li style in landscape painting. It represents a mixture of essentials in nature, the conventional Chinese painting and the stone art school. The artwork is also a pinnacle of Kerans drawing skills and an impeccable sample of his creative principles (Poly Auction, 2017). Research indicated that Li Keran once said that courage is the greatest value of art. He also noted that the truisms should be discarded. Precisely, the Landscape in Red has turn out to be the leading collection, which portrayed Li Kerans innovativeness.

nThe Landscape in Red Source (Poly Auction, 2017)

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nLandscape in Red is definitive subject of the artist. Based on research conducted by renowned gleaner Wenjie LIU, the period from 1962 to 1964 was the most important for Lis artwork. In this period, he was able to produce seven parts of this theme out of which three are in big size. One of the three large paintings is the “landscape in Red” which premiered in the spring sales of Poly Auction in 2012 (Poly Auction, 2017). It is reported that Li Keran once used two hundreds and fifty-gram cinnabar in the royal bastion particularly in the Forbidden City. Furthermore, the artist applied the paint to decorate four portions of “landscape in Red. The 1964 piece was the largest among the four portions (Poly Auction, 2017).

nIn this piece, the forests are dyed which also encompasses painting the Chairman Maos poem in the Beijings Mount Xishan specifically in the 1964s autumn. The art was motivated by a sentence in the poem of Mao Zedong, which read “Qin-Yuan-Chun Changsha. The painting was produced in 1925 but published 32 years later in the “Beholding at the landscape in red and the all dyed forests”. The impression of Keran Lis sequence of “Landscape in Red” on the industry represented some fascinating coincidences (Poly Auction, 2017). Firstly, the 1962 painting emerged in 1999 in the autumn auction of Gardian. At the time, the art industry was greatly affected by the financial recession witnessed in Asia. It had an initial price of 900, 000 RMB but the piece of art was ultimately traded at over four million RMB which was against the financial downturn. Therefore, his artworks are one of the best selling in the Chinese market. research also indicates that his paintings are one of the most expensive in the country because of exceptional features and quality.

nThe artworks of Li Keran have helped china to occupy the leading position in the world in terms of art hub (Met Museum, 2017). Moreover, the country is the global leader concerning the art market. reports have suggested that the high prices of Li Kerans artwork are justified because of outstanding quality, which blend traditional Chinese style with other form of art. He dedicated his artwork in celebrating the magnificence and beauty of his homeland, which exhibited his patriotism. His landscape paintings consistently validated the union of nature and man (Poly Auction, 2017). Additionally, it appropriately mirrored the desire and innovative spirit of an individual in the period of crucial social transformation.

nThe Poetic Mood of Su Shi

nThe art is one of the Li Kerans products produced in 1962. Based on the inscription of the artist, this image was established when Li and his apprentices were drawing and decorating Guilins landscapes (Met Museum 2017). It demonstrates the great artist, poet and public official Su Shi who lived in the 11th century in a period of trance. Su suffered many political oppression such as being sent on exile for communicating his political opinion. However, he utilized these moments for self-refinement and established exceptional calligraphy and poetry. Li Keran represented Su alongside a lotus-occupied pond. In this painting, the shady lotus gives the impression of an almost frightening material (Met Museum 2017). In particular, it appears as if they are just about to consume the figure, which however stays quietly, opposite the blossoms.

nThe Poetic Mood of Su Shi, Source (Met Museum, 2017)

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nThe Immortal Liu Haichan playing with a Toad

nThe painting was produced in 1937. It represents the early instance of the artists interests in early Chinese material painting. It portrays Liu Haichan, who was a minister in the era of the unrestrained Five Dynasties period from 906 to 960 (Met Museum, 2017). The person was also referred to as Liu Sea Toad and he was remembered for abandoning his titles and turned out to be a hermit. During the times of Ming, Haichan was adored as an eternal and was normally portrayed holding a three-legged frog. He was also considered unshod and unkempt. The audacious painting imitates Lis understanding with prevalent woodblock images and prints in New Year as well as with the outgoing brushwork and impulsive flair of Liang Kai who was part of the Song Imperial Painting Academy, abandoned his position, and accepted to be a Buddhist priest (Met Museum 2017).

nThe Immortal Liu Haichan playing with a Toad, Source (Met Museum, 2017)

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nThe Autumn herd, which was produced in the 1960, depict a painting style when Li Keran was influenced by Qi work. In this regard, he started to portray a round calligraphic feature (Met Museum, 2017). In this painting, he describes a water buffalo, which maintained a cartoonlike directness and simplicity. The water buffalo remained the most preferred subjects by Qi.

nThe Autumn Herd, Source (Met Museum, 2017)

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nConclusion

nLi Kerans artwork has transformed the Chinese work as it attempt to blend the Western style with ancient form of painting. Since his childhood, he started presenting traditional intellects through painting (Poly Auction, 2017). After acquiring formal education in art, he focused on landscape painting. In particular, he embraced realistic approach of combining both western and Asian ideologies in order to impart creativeness and innovation. From there he started to portray the scenery of his motherland through art. In this regard, he succeeded in production of new landscape style that was characterized by unique national features, special originality and popular mood of the time. Some of the best form of art includes the “Landscape in Red”. The product reveals his great skills of scenery painting which exclusive focus to details. He also tried to represent some poets who existed in the ancient Chinese culture (Met Museum, 2017). Therefore, his work helped to change and modernize the Chinese art using special landscape.

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nReferences

nChina Online Museum. (2017). Li Keran Paintings | Chinese Art Gallery | China Online Museum. Chinaonlinemuseum.com. Retrieved 10 July 2017, from http://www.chinaonlinemuseum.com/painting-li-keran.php

nMet Museum. (2017). Li Keran | The Immortal Liu Haichan Playing with a Toad | China | The Met. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, i.e. The Met Museum. Retrieved 10 July 2017, from http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/49747

nMet Museum. (2017). Li Keran | The Poetic Mood of Su Shi | China | The Met. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, i.e. The Met Museum. Retrieved 10 July 2017, from http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/49758

nPoly Auction. (2017). Beijing Poly international Auction Co.,Ltd.. En.polypm.com.cn. Retrieved 10 July 2017, from http://en.polypm.com.cn/english/news_detail.php?nid=299

nRoberts, C. (2017). A Century of Li Keran | China Heritage Quarterly. Chinaheritagequarterly.org. Retrieved 10 July 2017, from http://www.chinaheritagequarterly.org/scholarship.php?searchterm=012_CenturyliKeran.inc&issue=012